On February 12, Johnny Manziel partook in an interview on Good Morning America, declaring he was eyeing up a return to the NFL. Ordinarily these returns to the NFL, especially of players that had such short and unsuccessful careers in the league, are unsuccessful. Johnny Manziel stated in his interviews that he was unhappy, even while he was playing in the NFL, and that he was self-medicating his depression with alcohol. He additionally stated that he had been diagnosed with bipolar depression last year.

​

The Manziel story began in 2012, when he was the starting quarterback at Texas A&M University. Texas A&M had just lost current Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill to the NFL Draft, and they did not have a good replacement waiting in the wings. Johnny Manziel was on the roster in 2011, utilizing his redshirt year. In his first year as a player and a starter, he electrified the sport of college football, breaking the all time offense records for yards in a single game twice in one year. He led Texas A&M to a notable win over number one Alabama, an 11-2 season and a top five ranking in the AP Polls. Manziel became the first freshman ever to win the Heisman Trophy, and the first freshman ever to win the Davey O’Brien award, signifying his spot as one of the best quarterbacks to play the game of college football..

​

However, issues started to surface during his sophomore year. Johnny Manziel was accused by the NCAA of selling autographs, which is strictly prohibited for all college athletes. The NCAA did not discover any evidence to corroborate the fact that he made money, and the school came to terms with the NCAA where Manziel sat out the first half of the first game of his sophomore year, according to ESPN. Texas A&M did win that game 52-31, and went on to go 9-4 on the year. Manziel finished fifth in the Heisman voting, and declared his intentions to enter the draft after his sophomore year, entering the 2014 Draft.

​

While he impressed scouts at the combines, he was a polarizing figure to many NFL Teams. He was anticipated to be a top five draft pick, but was passed over until the Browns traded up to the 22 spot to select him. Manziel was also an avid baseball player in high school, and was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 28th round. Manziel played for the Browns in 2014, and in the preseason was fined $12,000 by the NFL for obscene hand gestures in a loss to the Redskins. He then lost the starting role to fellow quarterback Brian Hoyer, according to ESPN. The Browns gave Manziel another chance in November 2014, when the Browns were down big to the Buffalo Bills. Manziel scored his first touchdown in that game, but the Browns still lost 26-10. Two games later, he started against division rival Cincinnati Bengals, where the Browns were shut out 30-0. Manziel was injured the next game and missed the rest of the season. Manziel finished his rookie season with an overall quarterback rating of 42.0, which, had he played enough, would have ranked him number 31 overall among NFL quarterbacks.

​

In 2015, Manziel battled through injuries and struggled with falling in the depth charts to other quarterbacks Josh McCown and Austin Davis. After a strong game against Pittsburgh, Manziel was named the starter, but then was promptly demoted after videos surfaced of him partying on a bye week. Manziel made his way back to the starting role after a few weeks and an injury to Josh McCown, but sat out the last game of 2015 with a concussion. Reports surfaced Manziel skipped town on the Browns last game and was in Las Vegas, and after the team confirmed he missed a check in before the game, he was cut from the Browns.

​

Since then, Manziel tried his luck in the Canadian Football League and tried out for the Hamilton Tiger Cats. After two long years, no deal was reached and negotiations fell through. This was after Manziel fought to be cleared by the CFL to play, and then turned down contracts that his agent deemed unfair, since they were not equal to the pay of the Tiger Cats quarterback at the time, per Sportsnet Canada. On Valentine’s Day, Manziel agreed to play in a developmental and unpaid league for 2018. This brings the football career of Manziel up to present, but he also has had a checkered off the field story in addition to troubles on the field.

​

In 2012, Manziel was arrested after an altercation, in which he presented to the police a fake ID. That did not dissuade him from being starting quarterback in 2012 for Texas A&M, where he originally stated that he had learned from his mistakes. In 2013, he complained about being at Texas A&M after receiving a parking ticket, was kicked out of a fraternity party and was kicked out of an elite quarterback academy for college students. A few years later in early 2015, he sought treatment for an undisclosed reason, but later in the year he threw a water bottle at a heckler in a golf tournament who kept harassing him for autographs, according to Fox Sports. No arrests were made, however. In October of that same year, he was pulled over for fighting with his girlfriend while driving, and admitted to drinking earlier. Later, in 2016, Manziel was indicted on domestic assault charges in Texas, lost his agent and sponsorship deals and was suspended from the NFL, for four games for violation of the substance abuse policy. Manziel took classes at Texas A&M in 2016, and entered a plea deal of counseling therapy and agreed to be monitored to avoid prosecution, as per USA Today.

​

Needless to say, it has been wild ride for Manziel to this point, both professionally and personally. Only time will tell whether he is truthful in his intentions to return to the NFL and if he is willing to actually learn from his past mistakes.